In today’s Budding Wisdom, Heidi Skinner writes about the two kinds of bugs: “the ones we love and the ones we loathe” and “whether we like them or not, insects definitely have their place.”
gardening
For gardening success, it’s all about timing — and old wisdom
The endless old sayings about when to plant are never failsafe, but there is ancient understanding of the natural world, and following its cycles can improve your odds, no matter what kind of gardener you may be.
Sierra Club to celebrate Earth Day, hold plant walks, talks
N.C.’s Sierra Club’s Croatan Group is to host an Earth Day celebration on April 22, and have planned two walks to see carnivorous plants, and a talk with a master gardener about native plants to take place over the next month.
Tryon Palace to hold spring plant sale, open gardens to public
The historic site in downtown New Bern is celebrating National Gardening Month this weekend with a spring heritage plant sale and free admission to the palace gardens.
Likable lichens a bigger part of our lives than we may know
Birds and other animals, as well as humans, have for centuries found useful these complex communities of organisms that are found everywhere on Earth, yet we are still learning about them.
It’s time to relearn ancient knowledge our grandparents lived
Lives of convenience have taken us father away from understanding nature’s rhythms and cycles, but many are now coming back around to respecting and revering the land that feeds them.
Event to explore unsung African American gardening history
The North Carolina Botanical Garden is offering a virtual option for its daylong symposium on the “African American Legacy in Gardening and Horticulture” set for the last Saturday of March in Durham.
Moss is magical, useful and all over Earth, but what is it?
With more than 12,000 species, each uniquely adapted to its living conditions, and because it grows pretty much everywhere, humans have found numerous uses for moss, but it may not be what you think.
Snow is lovely, sometimes fun, but also good for the garden
The recent and rare blanket of white along the North Carolina coast may have provided natural benefits to your growing soil that you hadn’t considered.
Volunteers ready for April 12 Currituck flower, garden show
The Currituck Home, Flower, and Garden Show is set for Saturday, April 12, at the N.C. Cooperative Extension Currituck Center in Barco.
Permaculture prerequisites: Learn your land, lean on nature
Permaculture is about observation and understanding how your property’s natural elements can help you to create more bounty with less work, even in North Carolina’s challenging coastal conditions.
Permaculture mimics nature to offer growth for humans
While hedgerows are multilayered, permanent habitats for wildlife, permaculture works as a similar closed-loop system that can, once established, provide the most benefit with the least amount of labor.
History’s not-so-humble hedgerow habitat was nearly lost
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now, it’s just native habitat and an ancient permaculture ecosystem almost completely wiped from Europe after World War II that’s perfectly suitable here.
Witch hazel: Useful native species adds pop of winter color
If you’ve ever been in the woods this time of year and noticed a sweet fragrance but couldn’t pinpoint it, you’re not having olfactory hallucinations — this aromatic wonder grows right here in North Carolina.
The dirt on pH: No chemistry PhD required for gardening
Knowing your soil’s alkalinity and the conditions your desired plants need can help yield better results.
Autumn’s spectacular colors signal our natural connections
Our modern lives often make us feel disconnected from nature, but even if we don’t think we notice, evolution has ensured that our bodies remember the changing seasons.
